Welcome to the Center for Disability Resources Library Blog! Here we will welcome your comments and suggestions about books and videos that you have borrowed, materials that you would like to see purchased, or anything involving the day-to-day operations of the library or even of disabilities in general. To visit the library's web site, click here: CDR Library

Thursday, August 28, 2008

ScienceDaily"Previous research has found that when vision is lost, a person's senses of touch and hearing become enhanced. But exactly how this happens has been unclear. Now a long-term study from the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) demonstrates that sudden and complete loss of vision leads to profound – but rapidly reversible -- changes in the visual cortex. These findings, reported in the August 27 issue of the journal PLOS One, not only provide new insights into how the brain compensates for the loss of sight, but also suggest that the brain is more adaptable than originally thought."

ScienceDaily"If a stroke patient doesn't get treatment within approximately the first three hours of symptoms, there's not much doctors can do to limit damage to the brain. But now researchers report a technique that potentially could restore functions to patients weeks or even months after a stroke. The technique involves jumpstarting the growth of nerve fibers to compensate for brain cells destroyed by the stroke.

"In the best-case scenario, this would open up the window of time that people could recover and go back to normal functional status," said Gwendolyn Kartje, MD, Ph.D., a professor in the department of cell biology, neurobiology and anatomy and department of neurology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Ill. and chief of neuroscience research at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, Ill."

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A new study reveals part of the magic behind a diet rich in antioxidants, showing how artichokes, blueberries and pecans can hold at bay the leading cause of age-related blindness in developed countries.

Researchers at Brigham Young University and Weill Medical College of Cornell University discovered a link between two processes in the retina that, in combination, contribute to a disease called macular degeneration. They found antioxidants disrupt the link and extend the lifetime of irreplaceable photoreceptors and other retinal cells.

"The implication is that people at risk of macular degeneration could help prevent the disease by consuming antioxidants,” said Heidi Vollmer-Snarr, a BYU chemist who earned a doctorate from Oxford and began work on this disease as a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia.

Microsoft Word has a number of features that manypeople don’t realize are available. The potentialfor Word to enhance student learning isimmeasurable. Students with learning disabilitiesall learn differently and Word can be adapted tocater to each student’s individual learningstyle. Word can help empower and engage studentsas they take on new tasks. (Note: This workshopis being taught in Word 2003. Similar features inWord 2007 may be accessed differently.)

If you already have Kurzweil 3000 or are justthinking about purchasing it * this workshop willhelp to clarify just how the Kurzweil 3000 can beused to help struggling students. The Kurzweil3000 is a content-independent reading, writing,and learning software. It is used in elementaryschools, middle schools, high schools andcolleges and universities to help studentssucceed in the classroom regardless of their curriculum or lesson plans.

The knfbReader Mobile is a phone that reads toyou * a truly pocket-size solution to reading onthe go. This is a major advancement inportability and functionality of print access forblind, the visually impaired, and those withreading difficulties. The knfbReader Mobile andkReader Mobile software packages run on amultifunction cell phone which allows the user toread mail, receipts, handouts, and many otherdocuments wherever the user happens to be. TheknfbReader Mobile software has a feature setwhich is designed for use by blind or low-visionusers. The kReader Mobile is designed for userswho have difficulty reading due to learning orlanguage problems. The presenter will demonstratethe functions of this truly amazing technology.

Many assistive technology devices are availablefor communication, switch access, computeraccess, activities of daily living, and literacy.Assistive technology devices can be veryexpensive, but they don’t always have to be. Manyexamples of how to make assistive technologydevices using common objects around the home willbe demonstrated. The fundamentals ofappropriately selecting and using variousassistive technology devices will also bereviewed. The workshop will conclude with amake-and-take opportunity for participants tochoose from different projects to construct andthen take the finished product home with them.

If you are new to using Boardmaker software, orneed more information about the latest version,this training session is for you. The trainingincorporates a combination of hands-on use andfunctional application with Boardmaker Plus!Software. Basic Boardmaker functions and theadditional functions found in the Plus! versionwill be reviewed. Boardmaker Plus! is a drawingprogram combined with a graphics database thatalso has the ability to talk and play recordedsounds and movies. This interactive componentallows users to create talking activity boards,worksheets, schedules, books, writing activities, and more.

SC TEDP is a state supported program managed bythe S. C. Office of Regulatory Staff andadministered by the S. C. School for the Deaf andthe Blind. SC TEDP is aware of the dailychallenges facing individuals who are hearing orspeech impaired. Telecommunications equipmentdistributed by SC TEDP is carefully chosen tocover their various needs, and is distributed atno cost to qualifying South Carolinians.Qualifying disabilities are: hard-of-hearing,deaf, deaf-blind, blind/low vision with hearingloss, or speech impaired. Emphasis is placed onhelping individuals become more independentthrough use of this free, state supportedprogram. SC TEDP classes are presented on PowerPoint to facilitate a stress-free learningenvironment for attendees who are deaf orhard-of-hearing. ALS interpreters are available upon request.

This 3 hour course introduces you to theoperation of the SpringBoard Lite and willdiscuss implementation strategies. Participantswill learn how to store text, create, modify andlink activities and pages, and make a talkingphoto album. If your device is any color otherthan red and has a handle you need to take thisSpringBoard Lite training. For those participantsusing the PASS software, you will need the PASSsoftware that has the date of January 1, 2008 or after.

If you are new to using Boardmaker software, orneed more information about the latest version,this training session is for you. The trainingincorporates a combination of hands-on use andfunctional application with Boardmaker Plus!Software. Basic Boardmaker functions and theadditional functions found in the Plus! versionwill be reviewed. Boardmaker Plus! is a drawingprogram combined with a graphics database thatalso has the ability to talk and play recordedsounds and movies. This interactive componentallows users to create talking activity boards,worksheets, schedules, books, writing activities, and more.The training is in a computer lab, so no food or drink please.

This workshop will teach participants how toutilize some of the features of Microsoft Excelthat often go undiscovered by teachers.Participants will learn the basics of Excel andthen discover how to transform the standardspreadsheet into a teaching tool. Excel containsmany features and formulas that, when usedcorrectly, are beneficial for many students AND teachers.

Students with learning disabilities need to becareful not to practice incorrect answers. Thisworkshop will show how Excel can offer studentsindependent study opportunities and instantfeedback for skill practices across disciplines.Teachers will learn how to make worksheets toassist in the tedious and repetitive numbercrunching task of averaging grades. Participant’srole will be interactive and hands-on.

(Note: This workshop is being taught in Excel2003. Similar features in Excel 2007 may be accessed differently.)

Description: One common myth of augmentative andalternative communication (AAC) is that simplyhaving access to a communication system will makean individual a successful and independentcommunicator. While access to AAC is veryimportant, it is generally not enough. Rather,access to AAC must be combined with strategiesthat teach the individual how to be a successfulcommunicator. One important focus for thisteaching revolves around interaction with others.After all, “the ultimate goal of an AACintervention is*to enable individuals toefficiently and effectively engage in a varietyof interactions and participate in activities oftheir choice” (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2005, page 8).

Lecture, discussion, and small group activitieswill be used to help participants develop goalsin these areas and strategies to help AAC usersmeet these goals. Examples will be provided forall age groups and communication ability levels.Attendees will be provided with the opportunityto begin determining interaction goals and strategies for specific AAC users.

"What does it take to succeed despite attention deficit disorder (ADD ADHD)?

It takes hard work, for starters — a willingness to meet challenges head-on. It takes support from family members, teachers, therapists, and coaches. And, of course, it’s hard to overstate the benefits of ADHD medication.

But, of all the ingredients needed to make a happy, successful life, nothing is more important than good parenting. "

Monday, August 25, 2008

During the month of September EdVenture Children's Museum will be celebrating the abilities of children and individuals who are facing life with the challenges of a disability. Throughout the month, special events will be offered in the museum to showcase the talents of children across South Carolina who have soared beyond the restrictions that a disability can create. Through the generosity of donors, children with disabilities and their families will be admitted free on Sundays in September.

SCATP staff members will be there for some of the demonstrations.

Some of the events include:

* Unique art projects for families of children with visual, sensory, developmental disabilities.

* Masks in Motion: an interactive program where masks are revealed as three performers combine African, jazz, modern and world dance in order to explore tolerance through stories from around the world.

* Demonstration of how service dogs can open doors and make life easier for people with physical disabilities.

* Demonstrations of how you can "make your computer speak" and assist you if you are working with disabilities.

* Demonstration by the Rolling ThunderWheelchair Basketball Team.

* Performance by tne South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind's choral group.

* Dramatic, musical and improvisational presentations by Carolina Actors with Special Talents, a group that consists of children and adults with cognitive, physical and emotional disabilities.

Oticon is seeking nominations for outstanding individuals with anydegree of hearing loss for the 2008 Oticon Focus on People Awards.The national awards program honors students, adults and volunteerswith hearing loss.

The program offers awards in five categories:Students for individuals with hearing loss ages 6 to 21 who arefull-time studentsAdults for people with hearing loss age 21 and upAdvocacy for adults with hearing loss ages 21 and up who activelyvolunteer their time to support those with hearing loss and the deaf communityPractitioner - for hearing care professionalsPediatric Practitioner - for hearing care professionals in school orclinical settings

Thursday, August 21, 2008

AMC Entertainment (AMC) and ASA have teamed up to begin testing a pilot program to bring families affected by autism a special opportunity to enjoy their favorite films in a safe and accepting environment on a monthly basis. “Sensory Friendly Films” are premiering across the country this month with a special showing of the new animated film Star Wars: Clone Wars.

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disability that affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. It often comes with sensory challenges, such as hypersensitivity to light or sound, and children or adults affected by autism may not understand the social boundaries of movie theatre etiquette, such as not talking during the film or sitting still through most of the show.

In order to provide a more accepting and comfortable setting for this unique audience, the movie auditoriums will have their lights brought up and the sound turned down. Additionally, AMC’s “Silence is Golden®” policy will not be enforced unless the safety of the audience is questioned.

Sensory Friendly Films will pilot in 10 markets this month. Tickets prices vary by location and can be purchased on the day of the event. Each event will begin at 10 a.m. local time on August 23 in the following locations:

Friday, August 15, 2008

Behavior Analysis for a Lasting ChangeWednesday, September 3, 20089:00am - 4:00pmregistration at 8:00am

Register online at www.scautism.org

Workshop Fee: $65 per person (includes lunch)

Columbia Conference Center169 Laurelhurst Ave.Columbia, SC

Cancellation fee of $20 if cancelled before August 27.No refunds after 8/27.

This workshop is designed to provide, early interventionists,educators, parents, and others with a thorough understanding ofquality indicators in programs for children with autism and relateddisabilities. Strategies for designing individualized learningprograms that can be implemented both at school and home will beprovided. Specific steps in program development, strengthening familyroutines, delivery, monitoring, and assessment will be reviewed.Participants will receive a training handbook that includeschecklists and forms to assist with quality program development and delivery.

Colleen Cornwall, Ph.D, BCBA, founder of Applied Behavioral LearningEnterprises, is a Nationally Board Certified Behavior Analyst withover ten years of experience practicing ABA. Colleen holds a Bachelorof Science Degree in Emotional/Behavioral Disturbances and a Masterof Science in Exceptional Student Education with an emphasis inApplied Behavior Analysis (ABA). As a classroom teacher, Colleenworked with students with disabilities varying from severe emotionaldisorders to mental handicaps. Colleen also served as the LeadBehavior Analyst for Collier County Public Schools. In this role,Colleen developed behavioral interventions for children served in allexceptional student education programs ranging from Pre-KDevelopmental Disabilities to Learning Disabled to Autism/Asperger'sSyndrome, providing hands-on training to educators and parents andindividualized behavior therapy to students. As a nationalconsultant, Colleen has assisted school districts and trainingfacilities in developing group and individual behavior changeprograms, providing assessment, program development and regularlyscheduled consultations. With a particular interest in children andadults with limited verbal repertoires, Colleen has also beeninstrumental in assessing and developing individualized VerbalBehavior programs for children and adults including assessment(generally the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills/ABLLS), program development and regularly scheduled consultations.Colleen provides services nationwide and abroad.

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Mondays, September 15 - October 20 ( see below )Make and Take sessions Jan-Jun, 20093:30 pm-5:30 pmWorkshop Fee: $20**This workshop will be offered without cost to parents that would bewilling to help others from time to time to learn these skills.

The South Carolina Autism Society, in collaboration with the SouthCarolina Assistive Technology Project (SCATP), will offer a series ofskill-building sessions this fall. Carol Page, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ATPwill present a series on visual and environmental supports in theareas of social skills and behavior, communication, literacy, andfree electronic resources.

The training is targeted to parents of individuals with an autismspectrum disorder (ASD) but instructional assistants, teachers, andothers certainly may attend.

SCAS will tap into the power of parents teaching other parents withongoing make and take opportunities during the school year. This willbe to support people with ASD across school and home environments inorder to enhance the quality of life for children with ASDs. Themajority of the trainings will be held at the SCAS's training room,located at 806 12th Street, West Columbia, South Carolina.

The cost for this entire training series is $20.00 but will beoffered without cost to parents that would be willing to help othersfrom time to time to learn these skills. The training is limited to15 participants. The times for all sessions will be 3:30-5:30 pm. Toregister go www.scautism.org or call 803-750-6988.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Otolaryngologists develop a new, implantable hearing aid. It works with a transmitter worn behind the ear that sends sound vibrations from her deaf side through the skull to her good ear. It's called the BAHA. The device is implanted in the skull through the scalp behind the ear and causes a vibration when sound enters the field which vibrates the entire skull.

Hearing with your bones? It may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but a new device is allowing some partially deaf patients to do just that.

Friday, August 08, 2008

Robots may be the solution for people with disabilities who are struggling to regain the use of their limbs, thanks to a research team that includes engineers and students from Rochester Institute of Technology.

The study utilizes physiological information, or bio-signals, produced by the human body, to improve the performance of external assistive devices, called orthoses, which aid individuals with physical disabilities, such as strokes or major spinal cord injuries, regain the use of there arms and legs.

The project is funded through the National Science Foundation Computer, Information Science and Engineering Directorate and includes researchers and students from Rochester Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, and Georgetown University.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

The electronic-eye camera developed by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and NorthwesternUniversity. The array of pixels is visible through themagnified image created by the lens.(Credit: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois)

ScienceDaily (Aug. 7, 2008) —

"Digital cameras have transformed the world of photography. Now new technology inspired by the human eye could push the photographic image farther forward by producing improved images with a wider field of view. By combining stretchable optoelectronics and biologically inspired design, scientists have created a remarkable imaging device, with a layout based on the human eye.

As reported in the Aug. 7 issue of the journal Nature, researchers at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University have developed a high-performance, hemispherical "eye" camera using an array of single-crystalline silicon detectors and electronics, configured in a stretchable, interconnected mesh.

The work opens new possibilities for advanced camera design. It also foreshadows artificial retinas for bionic eyes similar in concept to those in the movie "Terminator" and other popular science fiction.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

"WASHINGTON - Dr. Paul Dougherty delicately slipped a tiny lens inside the right eye of 7-year-old Megan Garvin — a last-ditch shot at saving her sight in that eye.

The California girl last week became one of a small number of U.S. children to try an experimental surgery to prevent virtual blindness from lazy eye diagnosed too late, or too severe, for standard treatment.

The new approach: Implantable lenses, the same kind that nearsighted adults can have inserted for crisper vision — but that aren't officially approved for use in children.

"Without this technology, we couldn't help her," says Dougherty, a prominent Los Angeles eye surgeon who invited The Associated Press to document Megan's surgery. "This would be written off as a blind eye."

Up to 5 percent of children have amblyopia, commonly called lazy eye, where one eye is so much stronger than the other that the brain learns to ignore the weaker eye. Untreated, the proper neural connections for vision don't form, eventually rendering that eye useless."

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

In an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), neuroradiologists and neurologists of the University hospitals of Heidelberg and Würzburg have been able to visualize inflammatory tissue damage, most of which had remained unrecognized up to now, with the aid of a new contrast medium, Gadofluorine M, in magnetic resonance imaging.

In particular at the early stage of the disease, drug treatment is effective. Up to now, how-ever, an early diagnosis is frequently not established with certainty, especially if no (or very few) inflammatory lesions are present on MRI. "With this new contrast medium, we were able to visualize five to ten times more foci of inflammation in comparison to conventional MRI images and contrast media", reports Professor Dr. Martin Bendszus, Medical Director of the Department of Neuroradiology at the University hospital of Heidelberg.

Monday, August 04, 2008

"When Jamie Comer graduated from high school at age 21, gone were the in-depth assignments and hours of homework that had long challenged him.

As Comer, who has Down syndrome, began to gradually lose critical thinking skills without the aid of vigorous schoolwork, his mother struggled to find opportunities to keep him mentally sharp.

"People have always assumed that people like Jamie don't really have opinions on anything remotely complex," said his mother, Nancy Comer, 64, of Port Washington. "They're just expected to work and be happy."

But Nancy Comer wanted more for her son, now 29, and other adults with developmental disabilities. Five years ago, with the help of like-minded advocates and the Port Washington Public Library, she formed Books for Dessert, a book club - thought to be the only one of its kind on Long Island - for adults with intellectual disabilities.

The program allows developmentally disabled adults to read books together, discuss the intricacies of plots and character motivations and compare the stories to their own lives. Conversations, Comer said, have drifted from what it means to be poor to why President George W. Bush doesn't have the authority to behead, as did England's King Henry VIII."

Friday, August 01, 2008

The South Carolina Assistive Technology Program will be the guest onThe LaMondre' Pough Show Empowerment Radio, on August 2, 2008. Theshow focuses on empowering those with and without disabilities tolive life without limits, and will highlight the good works offeredby this organization. The show airs on WGCV 620 AM at 1:00pm. Weencourage you to call in with your comments and stories. Please tunein and support this event each and every Saturday. Thanks in advancefor your support.

San Clemente, CA (PRWEB) July 31, 2008 -- Doctor Disability, a disability insurance and life insurance brokerage service, recently launched a redesigned website where physicians and dentists can more easily request disability insurance quotes from various providers. DoctorDisability.com provides an easy way to compare quotes from different disability insurance companies, and even allows doctors and dentists to build their own custom disability insurance plans based on their unique needs.

"Locating adequate disability insurance usually means doing a lot of the footwork yourself," said Charles Krugh, president of Doctor Disability. "Our website essentially creates a one-stop shop environment, where doctors and dentists can easily obtain everything they need from one place."